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Amol Sinha once directed the Suffolk County chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

NEWARK -- Nearly eight months after President Trump assumed office, the American Civil Liberties Union remains one of Trump's chief antagonists.

The 97-year-old civil liberties group has targeted past presidents, including Barack Obama for his administration's use of unmanned drones, but the ACLU has gone after Trump with unusual relish. In July its leader called Trump "a one-man constitutional crisis."

This is the environment Amol Sinha has stepped into as the new executive director of the ACLU's chapter in New Jersey, a Democratic stronghold at a time when liberals view the group as a first line of defense against a president they abhor.

Sinha, 32, of Jersey City, sat down with The Jersey Journal in the group's Market Street office in Newark on Friday, his first day on the job, to discuss his vision for the ACLU-NJ, which now counts 43,000 households as members.

So what's it like taking over an ACLU chapter with Donald J. Trump in the White House?

"Wow," Sinha said. "Where do we begin?"

Sinha, sitting in front of a wall plastered with the ACLU-NJ logo, said the Trump administration's actions have reminded civil liberties advocates they need to be vigilant about rights they once thought were secure.

"This includes the rights of immigrants, the rights of LGBT individuals, women's rights, the criminal justice system and the way it disproportionately affects certain communities ... these are all things that are ever evolving but should never be taken for granted," he said. "I think under the new administration we're seeing that more clearly than ever before."

Immigrant rights are one of Sinha's top concerns. He is a child of immigrants who moved to the United States from India before he was born and settled in Lawrenceville, a suburb of about 4,000 people located 20 minutes north of Trenton. His father became a U.S. citizen soon after they moved here, his mother became one last year.

The welcoming New Jersey Sinha remembers from his childhood appears to be disappearing, he said.

Sinha cited as one example Hudson County's controversial cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The county jail in Kearny is one of four agencies in New Jersey that allows its officers to act as immigration agents, as part of ICE's 287(g) program that has been sharply criticized by the ACLU and immigrant advocates.

"It's a difficult feeling and an alienating experience to live in a place that doesn't want you and there are a lot of people in New Jersey that are experiencing that right now," Sinha said. "I want the ACLU to be at the forefront of that fight."

Sinha attended public schools in Lawrenceville before graduating from New York University and the Cardozo School of Law. He has worked for The Innocence Project and the Suffolk County chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

Sinha said he's particularly excited about what his presence at the helm of the ACLU-NJ means for the south Asian community. Immigrants originally from that part of the world make up about 4 percent of New Jersey's population and 14 percent of Jersey City's. Indian immigrants alone account for 9 percent of Jersey City's 264,000 residents.

His background as a south Asian man is integral to his becoming a civil rights advocate, he said. That population has experienced issues with immigrant rights, police misconduct and bias, criminal justice issues and wage theft -- the very issues facing at-risk groups that the ACLU wants to help, he said.

"I'm really interested in breaking barriers between communities," he said. "I want to make sure that we unify as a state and as a country. I want to be sure that communities that are experiencing any sort of injustice can rely on us and can rely on one another.

"Because if one community is at risk of losing their rights, we're all at risk," he said.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.

Key defensive playmakers from around the state - with videos.

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Anyone with information asked to call authorities.

NEWARK -- Police on Wednesday asked for the public's help to find the robbers who held up a store at gunpoint in Newark's West Ward.

Two assailants stole an unspecified amount of cash from employees at Abdul Mini-Mart on South Orange Avenue Tuesday night, according to Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose. Officers were called to the holdup around 9:35 p.m.

Police said a third suspect was seen running with the two robbers near South Orange Avenue and Arsdale Place after the holdup. Officers recovered a handgun used in the robbery, Ambrose said in a statement.

Authorities released photos of the trio and urged anyone with information to call Newark's 24-hour Crime Stoppers tip line at -877-NWK-TIPS (1-877-695-8477) or 1-877-NWK-GUNS (1-877-695-4867). Tips can also be submitted using the police division website and smartphone app.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Fans can ask questions and chat live with the six NJ.com football writers during our first Live Chat, Wednesdsay, Sept. 6, 7-8 p.m.

WOODBRIDGE -- This isn't a scrimmage. This one counts.

So fans, buckle up and bring it to the first live chat with the NJ.com football writers Wednesday, 7-8 p.m.

To join the chat, use the comments box below or the hashtag #HSFBCHAT.

We changed the day of the chat so there are no conflicts with Sunday Night, Monday Night or Thursday Night football. We know you've been saving up those questions and discussions for the last month.

NJ.com writers Bill Evans, Pat Lanni, Jeremy Schneider, Joe Zedalis, JJ Conrad and Matt Stypulkoski will be prepared to answer your questions and join in discussions about the 2017 season.

Some topics of discussion include:

• The NJ.com Top 20

• The sectional prediction by NJ.com writers

• Sleeper teams

• Top players

• Anything else that comes to mind

See you Wednesday!

Joe Zedalis may be reached at jzedalis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @josephzedalis. Like NJ.com HS sports on Facebook.

A group of former New Jersey governors unveiled a report on prisoner re-entry Wednesday.

NEWARK -- Jim McGreevey gathered with three other former New Jersey governors Wednesday to unveil a report suggesting ways the next governor's administration could better help former prisoners re-enter life on the outside -- and save the state tens of millions of dollars a year in the process.

The report from the nonprofit New Jersey Reentry Corporation, which McGreevey chairs, says if the recommendations are implemented, the Garden State would improve its correctional system, strengthen communities, become a model for the rest of the country, and save at least $189 million yearly.

"This isn't a Republican or Democratic issue," McGreevey, who has devoted much of his time to prisoner re-entry since leaving office, said during the event at the Greater Newark Conservancy. "This is an American issue and a New Jersey issue."

McGreevey outlined the report during a roundtable discussion with former governors Jim Florio, Jon Corzine, and Donald DiFrancesco. Ruthie Byrne, the wife of former Gov. Brendan Byrne, was also there.

McGreevey: 3 proven alternatives to mass incarceration

"You're not just doing this for yourself," Florio told a group of former prisoners seated around the table. "You're doing it for your community, and for the nation -- the nation's economy."

DiFrancesco, a Republican, added: "There are many things the government should not be involved in and many they should be involved in. This is one (it should be involved in.)"

McGreevey said he will give the report to both of the major-party candidates running in November's race to succeed Chris Christie as New Jersey's governor: Democrat Phil Murphy and Republican Kim Guadagno.

McGreevey, a Democrat, said he hopes whoever wins will implement the suggestions some time after they take office in January.

The average cost of incarceration per prisoner in New Jersey is $53,681, according to the report.

There are currently out 41,000 prisoners behind bars in federal, state, and county jails in New Jersey, the report says. And about 53 percent of people released from New Jersey prisons will be re-arrested and 31 percent will be re-incarcerated within three years, the report says.

Giving no support to those re-entering also leads to unemployment, homelessness, increased drug use, and increased violence, according to the report.

The report recommends a number of ideas: 

* Create a three-year pilot program to train former prisoners in a variety of industries. The program would be based out of vocational technical schools in six counties: Camden, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Middlesex, and Union.

It would cost $11,000 per student a year -- or a total of $2.3 million a year -- which is less than the state average of $19,648 per public-school student each year and $20,681 less than a single year of incarceration, the report says. 

* Create a one-year pilot program to improve healthcare access for the former prisoners, run in the same six counties. The program would cost $200,000 per site a year -- or 1.2 million a year total. 

The Reentry Corporation estimates both programs would save the state $83 million a year if implemented.

* Increase the use of parole. Of those imprisoned in New Jersey, 41 percent serve their entire term -- the highest rate in the country. And, the report argues, those who are paroled are less likely to end up back in prison. 

The corporation estimates the state would save at least $106 a year if parole is increased.

* Form a re-entry commission comprised of current and former governors, as well as representatives from various state departments. 

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

Authorities from Hudson, Bergen, and Essex counties are searching the Hackensack River for a person reported missing out of Nutley.

SECAUCUS - Authorities from Hudson, Bergen, and Essex counties are searching the Hackensack River for a person reported missing out of Nutley.

Just before noon, Secaucus was notified by Nutley police that a man reported missing had been tracked to Laurel Hill Park, Secaucus Police Capt. Dennis Miller said at the scene this afternoon.

The missing man's "personal belongings," which include a cellphone and car, were found in the park not far the Frank R. Lautenberg train station. Police have "some reliability" the man was last in Secaucus, Miller said.

State Police had a helicopter over the Hackensack River earlier in the afternoon. Along with Secaucus and Nutley police departments, Amtrack, NJ Transit, Maywood, and the Hudson County Sheriff's Office are all assisting.

Additionally, the fire departments from Lyndhurst, Wallington, Kearny, Bayonne, and Oradell have marine and dive teams aiding in the search.

No description of the missing man was given and police have not released his identity. The park is closed and dozens of first responders are still at the scene.

Asked why some many agencies were called in to assist, Miller said the police department would have a "large response for anybody."

"We'll respond in an appropriate way we see sit fit," Miller said. "And if that requires us to get additional agencies involved we will."

A Nutley police spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment. 

Caitlin Mota may be reached at cmota@jjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitlin_mota. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.

An 18-year-old man and three juveniles have now been charged in a shooting that claimed the life of one man and wounded another on Forrest Street in Jersey City on Aug. 13.

JERSEY CITY -- An 18-year-old man and three juveniles have now been charged in a shooting that claimed the life of one man and wounded another on Forrest Street in Jersey City on Aug. 13.

Zafarri Francis, 18, of Jersey City, was arrested yesterday and charged with fatally shooting Jaharee Broadway, 19, of Jersey City, Hudson County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Raymond Worrall said in a press release this afternoon.

Also charged in the homicide are two Jersey City boys, ages 16 and 17, as well as a 16-year-old Newark boy, Worrall said.

Francis made his first court appearance this afternoon on the charges of murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, weapons offense related to a gun and receiving stolen property -- a vehicle, Worrall said.

The juveniles are charged with murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and weapons offense related to a gun, Worrall said.

On Aug. 13 at about 1:25 p.m., Jersey City police responding to a report of shots being fired on Forrest Street and found Broadway with a gunshot wound at 322 Forrest St., Worrall said. 

He was rushed to the Jersey City Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, Worrall said.

A 22-year-old Jersey City man also suffered apparent gunshot wounds and he was taken to the Medical Center by ambulance for treatment of his injuries, which were not life-threatening, Worrall said.

"We are confident that when all the fact come to light, they will prove my client's innocence," said Francis' attorney, Marco A. LaRocca, after his client's appearance in Criminal Justice Reform Court in Jersey City. "We intend to vigorously defend against these allegations."

At the hearing, the state moved to detain Francis through the course of his prosecution and a detention hearing is set for Monday before Hudson County Superior Court Judge Paul DePascale in the Hudson County Administration Building in Jersey City. His next hearing is set for Oct. 25.

Worrall said the investigation into the shooting is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to contact the Prosecutor's Office at 201-915-1345.

Anonymous tips can be left at www.hudsoncountyprosecutorsofficenj.org/homicide-tip/, Worrall said, adding that all information will be kept confidential. 

Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Leo Rinaldi represented the state at Francis' hearing. Hudson County Superior Court Judge Sheila Venable presided. A possible motive for the shooting was not disclosed at the hearing. 

Reading from the criminal complaint, Rinaldi said in court today that Francis is alleged to have "personally shot and killed" Broadway. 

Fedner Pierre-Louis was convicted in 2004 of fatally shooting the New York doctor outside an Elizabeth hotel.

ELIZABETH -- An Irvington man who has repeatedly sought to overturn his conviction of killing a New York oncologist 15 years ago outside a Newark Airport hotel has again been denied a new trial. 

Two Superior Court appellate judges on Wednesday upheld the rulings of several other judges in deciding Fedner Pierre-Louis had not proven his trial counsel failed him when a jury found him guilty of fatally shooting Dr. Jeffrey Perchick outside an Elizabeth hotel in March 2002. 

A judge rejected Fedner-Pierre Louis's request for a new trial in the 2002 fatal shooting of a doctor outside an Elizabeth hotel. (NJ Department of Corrections)

Pierre-Louis, 33, was challenging a July 2015 order denying him post-conviction relief on the basis that his trial lawyers' decision not to present an alibi defense constituted ineffective assistance of counsel. 

He has been in prison since he was sentenced to 45 years in March 2005 for killing Perchick, 55, during a robbery outside the Wyndham Hotel across from Newark Liberty International Airport. 

A judge initially granted Pierre-Louis's first request for a new trial on the basis that his lawyer, a pool attorney hired through the Union County Public Defender's Office, had inadequately investigated his case and had ignored a defense that claimed he had an alibi when Perchick was killed. 

But that judge reversed himself after the Union County Prosecutor's Office challenged the decision, and an appellate judge also ruled Pierre-Louis should not get a new trial. 

The state Supreme Court then remanded the case to Superior Court for a third hearing before Judge Joseph P. Donohue, who ruled Pierre-Louis had not shown his trial lawyers' performance was inadequate and prejudiced his right to a fair trial. 

In the appellate decision handed down Wednesday, the judges affirmed Donohue's decision and said he had supported his findings with sufficient credible evidence. 

When Donohue held a hearing on Pierre-Louis's claim that his lawyers should have argued he was home at the time of the killing, Donohue listened to testimony by Pierre-Louis's father, sister and a friend and found none of it believable, the appellate judges wrote in their decision. 

Donohue noted that the defendant had changed his alibi, first saying he was at school when the killing happened and then saying he was home playing video games with friends.

Pierre-Louis did not mention the video game alibi until four years after he first gave statements to police in 2002, the appellate judges said Donohue considered when making his decision. The father, sister and friend also did not give statements supporting the alibi until years after the crime. 

Donohue found the state's witnesses, Pierre-Louis's two lawyers and the Office of the Public Defender investigator to be credible, the appellate judges wrote in Wednesday's decision. One of Pierre-Louis's lawyers had told Donohue the defendant agreed with his trial strategy not to present the alibi defense because his family and friend would not be good witnesses, the judges wrote. 

Therefore, the appellate judges said, Donohue's ruling stands. 

Pierre-Louis is serving time on his December 2004 conviction of aggravated manslaughter, robbery, felony murder, unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose. 

Perchick, of Poughkeepsie, New York, was staying at Wyndham Hotel the day of the killing with his wife, Jo Anne. The pair had planned to fly to Mexico the next day on a second honeymoon. 

The doctor dropped his wife at the hotel's entrance, parked his car and started walking to the front door, prosecutors have said. They said Pierre-Louis stole $800 from Perchick's pocket and shot Perchick in the head as he tried to run away. 

Marisa Iati may be reached at miati@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @Marisa_Iati or on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook. 

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NUTLEY -- Authorities searched a stretch of the Hackensack River Wednesday for a man reported missing in Nutley after his cell phone and car were found nearby. Nutley police later identified the missing man as Bhavesh Sangani, 33, who was last seen driving a Nissan Altima. Search underway in river for missing man  Several agencies took part in the search,...

NUTLEY -- Authorities searched a stretch of the Hackensack River Wednesday for a man reported missing in Nutley after his cell phone and car were found nearby.

Nutley police later identified the missing man as Bhavesh Sangani, 33, who was last seen driving a Nissan Altima.

Search underway in river for missing man 

Several agencies took part in the search, including the Hudson County Sheriff's Office, a water rescue team from Lyndhurst and police and firefighters from communities including Wallington, Maywood, Oradell and Kearny.

Detectives in Nutley are interviewing friends and family of Sangani, who was not found, Chief of Police Thomas Strumolo said Wednesday.

Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. Find NJ.com on Facebook.  

Immigrant right advocates, labor unions, students and elected officials gathered outside the Peter Rodino Federal Building on Wednesday vowing to fight for protections for undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.

NEWARK -- Amid the chants and drumming echoing outside the Peter W. Rodino Federal Building on Wednesday, Dulce Gomez thought of her younger brother. 

Gomez is one of about 22,000 young undocumented immigrants living in New Jersey granted a temporary protection from deportation under a program known as deferred action for childhood arrivals, or DACA. On Tuesday, the Trump Administration rescinded those protections, leaving Gomez once again vulnerable to deportation.

"My brother is only 13 and he's really aware of the situation. You're supposed to be the older sibling and you don't know how to react," Gomez, 19, said as tears streamed down her face. "He asked me, 'What's going to happen to you?' and it's the hardest question to answer."

About a hundred people gathered in Newark Wednesday vowing to fight for the "Dreamers," the group of young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children by their parents and who were protected under President Obama's deferred action program. 

The deferred action program, enacted through executive action, allows undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. before they were 16 years old and meet certain requirements to obtain a two-year work permit and deferred action from deportation.

"It's devastating news but it's also news that's galvanizing a movement to fight back," Sara Cullinane, state director for Make the Road New Jersey said of DACA's revocation.

Supporters of the Dreamers filled the sidewalk outside the federal immigration building chanting, "I believe that we will win" and temporarily blocking traffic down Broad Street. 

U.S. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., also spoke at the rally after leaving his federal corruption trial next door. Menendez calling President Trump's decision "heartless" and a strike against young immigrants who don't know any other home but the U.S. 

"They dream American dreams, they are as American as anybody else," Menendez said. "Now is the time for Congress to put forward -- since he has ended DACA -- to put forward an opportunity for the Congress to consider a clean Dream Act."

Advocates called on Congress to extend protections to Dreamers without tying such measures to funding for a border wall or immigration enforcement. Rallies have been held in New York City, in Washington D.C. and elsewhere, with more to come. 

According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, New Jersey had 22,024 DACA recipients through March 2017. DACA recipients have been able to get jobs, provide for their families, get driver's licenses and no longer fear deportation. 

"I'm worried about us being the first targets of deportation and putting my family at risk for it, it's not just me, it's my parents," said Gomez who has worked for Audible and for Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo. "My siblings will be alone."

Gomez, of Newark, said she came to the U.S. from Mexico when she was 1 year old. Her siblings are U.S. citizens. 

"If you're a dreamer and you're asking yourself what to do, the only answer is to fight back," she said. "This is the only country I know."

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook. 

NEWARK-- A city resident was arrested Wednesday after complaints of drug activity near 4th Avenue and North 12th Street, police said. Officers from the 2nd Precinct saw Devon Thomas, 25, carrying out drug transactions and arrested him, police said. He was allegedly in possession of 21 glassine envelopes of heroin and more than $300 in suspected proceeds. He has been...

NEWARK-- A city resident was arrested Wednesday after complaints of drug activity near 4th Avenue and North 12th Street, police said.

Officers from the 2nd Precinct saw Devon Thomas, 25, carrying out drug transactions and arrested him, police said. He was allegedly in possession of 21 glassine envelopes of heroin and more than $300 in suspected proceeds.

He has been charged with distribution of drugs, distribution within 1,000 feet of a school and was also previously charged with contempt of court.

A September tradition for generations.

WE didn't have air conditioners back then!Greg Hatala | The Star-Ledger 

Even not there, my locker is still a pigsty.Greg Hatala | The Star-Ledger 

I recently took a trip to the place where I grew up. On this particular trip, I stopped by the properties that were home to the schools I attended.

St. Francis of Assisi School in Vineland was where I attended grades one through eight. The building is still there, but it's now occupied by the Compass Academy Charter School. Sacred Heart High School in Vineland, also my alma mater, closed following the 2012-13 school year; the building is now home to a Diaconate Center, run by the Diocese of Camden.

Here's my message to those of you who attended schools that are still operating: Stay involved! That is, go to football games and school plays, volunteer your time in the library or join the alumni association because the day may come when the building is razed or when it is no longer occupied by students and teachers. And as I've come to realize, that's a sad day.

I looked at my first-grade classroom at old St. Francis. My mind was flooded with memories. I remembered starting first grade and recalled the first day in each classroom as I progressed up the length of the building. Things appeared similar at this Compass Academy Charter School, but not the same.

MORE: Vintage photos around New Jersey

I also wandered around what was Sacred Heart High School. Structurally, it's hardly changed from when I wandered those same halls 40 years ago, but they're empty now, never to see the excitement mixed with foreboding, mixed with confusion as each new school year started. The hallway that was a beehive of activity when class periods changed is empty now.

Life goes on. Things change. But our school years were some of the most formative in our lives. If you can, take a trip back to your old schools; good or bad, memories like these are worth recalling.

Here's a gallery of people returning to school in New Jersey through the years. And here are links to other galleries you might like:

Vintage photos of going to school in N.J.

Vintage photos of going back to school in N.J.

Greg Hatala may be reached at ghatala@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregHatala. Find Greg Hatala on Facebook.

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